His voice sounded kind of like how someone would sound if they were trying to get you to take the last piece of candy. Wyneth wanted to say yes. But then, she looked like she wanted to say something else, looking a bit mad at him."Really? So, just because you say we should start over, we can? Just like that?" she asked in a challenging way.Hayden was surprised. He thought she would not talk to him at all, but she was, so that was something. Trying to stay calm, he asked, "Okay, so what do you want? You want to get back at me? Just tell me what to do.""Now you're like, 'I'll do anything'. But remember when I brought up divorce? You were like, 'Sure, why not?' right away. You didn't even know where I was sleeping. You really don't care about anything, do you?" she said, sounding pretty mad.Hayden sighed, "Look, I messed up. And I never cheated, even when you thought I did after you had a few too many. Gigi? Her family and ours go way back, like our grandparents were friends. Mom
Wyneth pressed her lips together, feeling really uneasy. Hayden noticed her silence and the change in her demeanor. With a smirk, he whispered, "No words? Guess that's a 'yes' from you." He leaned in to kiss her again, but just as he was about to, Wyneth bent at her waist to dodge him and then moved away from the bed. "Get some rest," she said.Even though Hayden could not kiss her, he did not push it. He leaned back on the bed, watching her with a playful look. 'That move was totally worth it,' he thought.His phone buzzed with a new message from Simeon: [Dude, how'd it go? Did playing the pity card work?]While Wyneth was busy in the bathroom with the wet clothes, Hayden quickly replied: [I'll pay you big later.] He set the phone aside without waiting for Simeon's reply, feeling much lighter.Soon, Wyneth returned. She glanced at Hayden and said, "Time's up. I messaged Simo; he's on his way. I need to head back to film."Hayden's mood, which had been upbeat, now visibly sank. "Y
After hearing Simeon's summary, Hayden told him coldly, "You can leave now."Realizing he had ruined Hayden's moment, Simeon felt embarrassed and tried to make amends. "It wasn't on purpose. If you had responded to my message, I wouldn't have come if I knew things weren't okay."Hayden pressed his lips together. After a pause, he asked, "What if I eat now?" Simeon stayed silent. Hayden prodded, "Speak up."Simeon, taken aback, finally said, "Seriously, dude? All this drama over a woman? Seems like you'd do anything for Wyn. But I get it; Wyn isn't paying attention to you. Did she ever really care?" Simeon chuckled. "Back in our college days, everyone thought you'd be the first one to have a girlfriend. Everyone liked you. It seemed like any girl you liked liked you back. We all thought if you didn't have someone, it was because you didn't want to. But man, were we wrong. Wyn has always been in charge, and it looks like that hasn't changed."After Wyneth left, Hayden felt even worse
Tommy: [What are you talking about? Weren't you the one who always called him a "snake"? I've got proof – I took a screenshot.]Sonny: [That's not me in the screenshot! My coworker sent that. I scolded him for it.]Tommy: [Hold on, there should only be three of us in this chat. Is Hayden also here?]After the message, they quickly checked to see who the new person was in the chat. It was an account named "W", showing a profile picture of snowy scenery.Sonny: [Doesn't seem like Hayden. Could it be a woman?]Tommy: [It's someone Simeon added. Maybe it's his girlfriend?]Sonny: [Did he start dating and not tell us? What about our pact to stay single? And why just us in this chat? Trying to hide his girl from Hayden?]Tommy: [Typical Simeon, always having beef with Hayden. I've got that screenshot. Pay up, or I'm spilling the beans!]Simeon: [What's wrong with you guys? That's Hayden's girl, Wyn!]Tommy: [What?!]Sonny: [Seriously?!]Tommy: [Wyn? The chubby-faced girl from our
Before Wyneth could reply, Simeon jumped in: [She didn't come to the hospital by herself; she was with Hayden.]Tommy: [Hayden? So it wasn't just a chance meeting. It's through Hayden that you reconnected with Wyn?]Sonny: [Wyn, it's not cool that you didn't keep in touch. We've missed you.]Seeing these messages, Wyneth felt warm inside. She had believed that after so many years, if these guys ever mentioned the name "Wyn", they might wonder, 'Who's Wyn?' But to her surprise, they not only remembered her but also missed her.Simeon: [Come on, she's just a girl and can do no wrong. Accept it and let it be. Besides, she's more than just a close friend like Hayden. We watched her grow up, even if briefly. She's like a little sister to all of us.]Tommy: [You're right, she's our little sis. But Wyn, when we said you weren't cool, we just meant we missed you a lot.]Sonny: [Yeah, we're just worried about you, not trying to be mean.]Seeing their reactions, Wyneth chuckled. When they
Wyneth checked the message fifteen minutes after it arrived. 'A patient? I thought Simo had someone covering for him? Why is he seeing patients now? Did something happen to Hayden?' Worried, Wyneth quickly clicked on Simeon's profile to message him directly.Wyneth: [I thought you had backup today? Why the patient visit?] She waited, but Simeon did not reply. A few minutes later, she typed out another message: [Hey Simo, grabbed lunch yet?]Holding her phone tightly, Wyneth's face grew more worried. 'Am I just overreacting? Even if I'm upset with Hayden, he's been through a lot with his health issues.' As she pondered this, her phone vibrated with a new message from Simeon.[Hello, I'm Dr. Beard's assistant. He's in emergency surgery right now. Are you his girlfriend? I'll have him reach out once he's finished.]'Emergency surgery?' Wyneth left her salad untouched, grabbed her purse, and quickly headed out, worrying about Hayden. As she was driving to the hospital, she texted him.
She was serious, but her coworker just laughed, growing even more excited. "I think you've got it all wrong. There are so many women around him, but he's single. That means he's not into any of them. This could be our chance.""Really?""Absolutely. Why not give it a shot? Just ask for his number. If he shares it, great. If not, no big deal. You in? Don't say I didn't try to hook you up."As the two continued their conversation, they walked by Wyneth. After rounding the corner, Wyneth, feeling relieved, pushed open the hospital room door. Unbeknownst to her, the two nurses stopped shortly afterward, looking puzzled."Hey, didn't we just walk by someone who looked really familiar?""Who do you mean?""The woman we passed while we were chatting."They quickly retraced their steps but did not see Wyneth."Do you think we made a mistake?""No way. She totally looked like that famous actress, Wyneth Walford.""Wyneth Walford?""Yeah. I heard she and Hayden Hamilton go way back."
Hayden kept staring at her, now playing with her fingers. Speechless, Wyneth watched as he lifted her hand to his lips, first brushing against it, then giving it a light kiss.Finally, she snapped. "Enough, Hayden."She tried to pull her hand away, but he held on, even pulling her hand to his chest, letting her feel his heartbeat. Wyneth's face turned red. The gesture was simple but felt flirtatious. 'What's gotten into him?' she wondered."Let go," she said through gritted teeth.Hayden chuckled softly. "I won't let go. Now that I've got you, I won't."Seeing the look on Hayden's face, Wyneth bit her lip and decided to just let him be. 'Why am I even resisting? The moment I heard about Simo's surgery, I rushed to the hospital, not even knowing who the patient was. My actions have already shown how I feel. So, why am I pushing him away? It can't be healthy to constantly fight against my own feelings, can it?'Once Simeon finished his surgery, a nurse told him someone was looking